5 Best CSAT Books for IAS Prelims Exam

CSAT or the civil services aptitude test is a compulsory paper in the preliminary stage of the UPSC examination. This includes-

5 Best CSAT Books for IAS Prelims Exam

CSAT or the civil services aptitude test is a compulsory paper in the preliminary stage of the UPSC examination. This includes-

1. Comprehension skills
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills and management
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision making and problem-solving 
5. General mental ability to solve problems
6. Basic numerical problems that include numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc up to Class X level and Data Interpretation including charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc up to class X level.  

So, this can be seen that mostly mathematical problems and reasoning are the basic components of this paper. Some students have an intense fear of facing maths problems and they are unable to clear prelims just because of the CSAT paper, although they score well in the GS Paper.

So, every student requires a trustworthy and reliable guide for preparing for UPSC prelims and the CSAT paper. Though there are tons of apps and websites guiding the students to perform better, it is still always a wise choice to have books to learn and for practice.

Now, there are hundreds of books that come every year in the market and the students get confused as to which one to choose among them. So, here is a complete guide for the students who are seeking the best CSAT books for UPSC prelims. The all-time five best sellers' CSAT books include:

1. General Studies Paper II for UPSC Preliminary Examination by Tata McGraw Hill

• Helpful for aspirants who are preparing for both UPSC and State PSC.
• Few short comprehensions are also included
• A thorough analysis of previous year question papers
• Model question papers provided based on Emerging trends
• Accurate content and information with a concise discussion 
• Content is developed by renowned and the best academicians

2. Analytical Reasoning-M K Pandey

• Simple language.
• Right from Coded relationships and Analytical Decision-Making to Evaluation Inferences, everything is explained effectively and concisely
• This book makes your concepts clear and you become able to solve maths questions faster. 
• Several tricks are given to solve the logical and analytical reasoning problems which are undoubtedly fruitful.
• Complete details of topics are covered along with sufficient examples.
• Various sample questions are given for practice along with answer book.
• Quality of the book page is fine and the printing quality is good too.

3. Cracking the Civil Services Aptitude Test Paper II by Arihant

• Topics like General Mental Ability, Data Interpretation, Interpersonal Skills, Decision Making, Problem Solving Skills and Analytical Ability, everything has been discussed clearly. 
• The book covers all the sections of CSAT
• Complete solution with charts, tables etc
• Solutions of previous years question papers
• 5 Sample set for more practice
• detailed explanations are also provided to clarify the concept 

4. The Mantra of CSAT Paper II by Gautam Puri

• Questions given in the book follow the exam pattern
• Solved papers of previous year question papers
• Sample working exercises
• Conceptual clarity of the topics.
• Funny and interesting tricks to solve tough questions in the easiest way
• Easy to understand language

5. A Modern approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning By R.S. Aggrawal

• Basic analogy, directions and non-verbal reasoning, analytical reasoning etc are explained in this book
• Additional questions have been incorporated for more practice. 
• Brings in clarity in concept
• Questions asked in the book and the solving technique, both follow the latest trend

· Lots of sample question papers along with the solution have been provided